Reach out to your Network

If you are seriously looking for employment you need to let your network know you are looking. Otherwise if someone you know, who knows about a job, won’t know you are looking and won’t contact you. So you need to contact them.

Even if you make initial contact with key folks in your network, you must periodically remind them you are seeking employment. Otherwise they may forget! I suggest job seekers email their contacts once a week and call every other week.

As a recruiter I stress to some of my candidates that it is okay to remind me that they are still on the job market. If I don’t hear from them I tend to forget them. I try not to let this happen but with unemployment at 10% I average 25 new résumés and contacts a week.

Also f someone if your network gives you a name or lead on a job, you better follow-up on that lead. An old friend called me today to see if someone she knew called me after she suggested the person contact me. I told her I did not recognize the name. She immediately understood the person did not follow up.

If you are seriously looking for work, use your network, maintain regular contact and follow up on leads and referrals.

Job Seekers: Don’t give up in December

Although job postings, interviews, callbacks and offers seem to slow down in December, it is not a holiday for job seekers.

It is important to hit your job hunting activity goals and keep an eye on your target companies. While other job seekers take December off, this is a good time for the active job seekers because of the lack of competition.

Continue your job seeking activity throughout December. The jobs you apply to in December will become interviews, and maybe an offer, in January.

If you like what you are reading and want to read more, check out my eBook at www.blackholesresumesjobs.com/

If you are an IT professional and want to send me your résumé, please feel free to email your résumé to me at chas.bollow@triad-corp.com.

Professional Networking Sites: LinkedIn

The world is much different today than it was ten years ago. Today we have social networking sites for both personal and professional purposes. We all know the personal social networking groups such as Facebook, match.com, atlinks.com, YouTube and others that have become common words in our vocabulary. We also know about LinkedIn, Focus, ZoomInfo and others for professional networking sites. It is very important to use these professional networking sites in your career search and it is just as important to be sure there is nothing incriminating on these personal networking sites.


LinkedIn Rules for the Job Seeker:

• Invite Others: Make sure you know the person you invite and don’t expect people you do not know to connect. If you feel the need to connect with someone get an introduction.
• Accept Invites: Don’t accept invites from people you do not know unless you were introduced from someone else and it was recommended for your career.
• The quantity of connections is not important as the quality of your contacts. More VP, directors, managers, team leads and fewer peers is better.
• Subscribe to a few local LinkedIn groups: Skip the bad news and look for articles and discussions about companies hiring. Look for job seeker tips. Most importantly, be informed about your local business climate.
• Ask for recommendations: On LinkedIn I have been asked by colleagues to write recommendations and I have asked for recommendations from others. In a sense these recommendations are references.
• Reconnect: If you have lost track of people you worked with, LinkedIn is a great way to reconnect with those you liked and the people with whom you worked well. I stay connected to those who I generally want to succeed in life as they want me to succeed.
• Ask people for introductions: Make sure you ask the person you know if it is OK to use their name. Don’t “name drop” unless you have permission.
• Ask connections for job leads: If you get a lead that is not good for you, try to pass the lead on to others in your network. They may do the same for you in return.

Using LinkedIn is a form of professional self marketing. Using your connections, is a good way to get your name “out there” to those that are hiring or know of others that are hiring. Your LinkedIn recommendations tell employers that you have performed well, are well liked, respected and can do the job. Social Networking is a tool in your toolbox that needs to be used, but don’t forget about old fashion networking.

If you like what you are reading and want to read more, check out my eBook at www.blackholesresumesjobs.com/

Are you using Career Builder, Monster, Dice, Hot Jobs, and so on as part of your job search? http://polls.linkedin.com/p/66041/roibz